Date Tue 15 February 2011

Loipa Araújo, one of the ‘Four Jewels’ of the Cuban National Ballet, will exchange ideas about the teacher/student dynamic in dance with psychoanalyst Luis Rodríguez de la Sierra at a Connecting Conversations event on Tuesday 8 March 2011. The event takes place at 8.00pm at London Metropolitan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London, N7 8DB.

Loipa Araújo, prima ballerina of the Cuban National Ballet and internationally sought-after teacher shares a common interest withdance enthusiast Luis Rodríguez de la Sierra. Loipa explains that ‘my father was a psychiatrist and it has always been a very important part in my concept of teaching.’ They will compare the position of the dance teacher with the role of the psychoanalyst. Araújo was awarded the Gold Star Award at the International Dance Festival of Paris, the Medal of the Brazilian Council of Dance, the National Culture Award and in January this year, she was celebrated with the French government's Legion of Honour medal.

Connecting Conversations is a series of events bringing together practitioners from the world of psychoanalysis with leading figures from other disciplines including dance, theatre, literature and the visual arts. The events aim to make connections between individuals, organisations and ideas, and the conversations are made widely accessible via audio files on the website, www.connectingconversations.org.

Former participants include Sebastian Faulks, Rachel Whiteread, Tamara Rojo and Quentin Blake, Alicia Alonso, Wendy Cope, Grayson Perry and Anthony Horowitz.The series is produced by Rowan Arts in partnership with The Institute of Psychoanalysis, Freud Museum, London Metropolitan University, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and Women's Therapy Centre.